Consequences of a meeting
by KungFuWitch
Summary: After meeting a ghost, Kagome finds herself tracking Kira. What will happen when she is suspected of being Kira by a certain detective ? Will she be able to keep her secrets ? KagomexL
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

" What a beautiful night. " said Kagome. She was laying on the grass in a park in Tokyo and staring at the stars and the dark sky above her. " This is definitely a perfect spot for stargazing. No lights and a large open space."

After a few more minutes, Kagome looked at her watch : it was already near midnight.

" I should go now, if I want to sleep a few hours before going to work. "

With a sigh, the young girl stood up and went to leave the park. On her way, she noticed a silhouette on a bench. She first thought it was a late wanderer or an insomniac like her, but as she moved closer she noticed two things : the person was a young man, and he was slightly transparent !

_Great, a ghost. Just what I needed. Now I know for sure I won't get any sleep tonight. He looks almost solid, he should not have been dead for very long._

She kept on walking until she was facing the man and said : " Hey ! What are you still doing here ? "

The ghost jumped, either not expecting her to talk to him or too desperate to have noticed her presence before. " What ? You... err... You can see me ? "

Kagome rolled her eyes and answered : " Of course not ! I was talking to that tree behind you ! "

The ghost looked stunned for a moment then smiled sadly. " Got it, stupid question." Then, with a distant look in his eyes : " My fiancee hates it when I ask stupid questions "

Kagome smiled gently and sat on the bench, next to the man. "Do you stay in this world because of her ? "

The man looked away : " No, she... she's already dead. "

" Then why do you want to stay here ? "

The ghost's eyes watered as he told Kagome : " I don't want to stay here but I can't go ! "

The miko frowned and asked, confused : " What do you mean ? "

Now tears were flowing on the young man's face as he explained : " When I died, I felt as if I was weightless. I didn't understand until I saw myself on the floor and people around me. Someone said I was dead. No one could see me, I mean my spirit... or soul. And then I got this... this weird feeling, like I had to go somewhere. It's really hard to explain, I never felt something like this before. Anyways, I followed that feeling and I saw a couple. I think the woman was dead too, I could see through her and she had blood on her clothes. She took the hand of the man and they disappeared. I somehow knew I had to wait, and a minute later, the man was back, alone. When he saw me he glared at me and said he couldn't take me to the afterlife. "

By now the ghost was sobbing incontrollably, his face in his hands. Kagome looked sympathetically at him : no wonder he was breaking down, he just died and was told he couldn't go to the afterlife ! She was also confused by his story : she had never met a ghost who couldn't leave this world if he wanted to. Quite the contrary, all the troublesome ghosts she had had to deal with were spirits who refused to go. When the man seemed somewhat calmer, she asked him gently :

" Did this man say why you weren't allowed to go ? "

He sniffed and answered : " Yes, but I didn't understand his explanation. He said I used a Death Note, but I... "

" A Death Note ? " Kagome interrupted sharply. " You found a Death Note and wrote a name in it, despite... "

As soon as she had pronounced those words, the ghost became angry and yelled : " I don't even know what a Death Note is ! "

Kagome was even more confused now, she just wanted to go home and sleep, but at the same time a part of her wanted, no needed to understand what was going on to find a way to help. _Normally, if he had found a Death Note, there should have been at least a indication of his power and a warning that whoever used it could never go to Heaven nor Hell. I know the Shinigami King imposed this measure, but this man doesn't seem to know that. Kaede told me the people who had relinquished their ownership of the Death Note lost their memories of it, but remember everything after their death. Maybe something went wrong with him. Or it could be a trick to go to the afterlife anyway, how can I know if I can trust him ?_

Staring intently into the man's eyes and looking very serious, she asked him : " Are you sure you never used a Death Note intentionally ? "

Hearing the seriousness in her voice, the ghost, who was previously staring at his hands, looked up and looked her in the eyes. " I can swear I absolutely don't know what this Death Note is, and I never used one. Hell, I didn't even hear that term before my death ! "

He watched as the girl in front of him seemed to ponder his declaration. After a moment of silence, he found himself panicking. _What if she doesn't believe me ? And if she does, will she be able to help me ? She may be able to convince the man to take me to the afterlife, but what if she can't ? Will I have to stay in this world forever ? _Then the part of his mind who hated not understanding something took over. _What is a Death Note ? It seems to be an unforgivable sin to use one, but I'm sure I didn't do anything wrong enough to deserve not being allowed to quit this world !_

Suddenly, the girl stood up and faced him. A smile appeared on her face as she said : " My name is Kagome, and you are ? "

" Ray Penber " the ghost answered mechanically, not understanding why she was smiling.

" Okay, Ray Penber, I've decided to help you. Get up ! "

To stunned to move, he asked : " Why ? "

Kagome grinned even more. " Because we have to find a ferryman ! "

**AN :** I think I have to make some explanations :

- in this universe, Heaven and Hell do exist. A mortal who used a Death Note can't leave Earth and has to remain a ghost forever.

- ferrymen are not shinigamis : shinigamis are the gods of death described in Death Note, whereas the ferrymen have to take the souls of the deceased to the afterlife.

Well, this was the first chapter of my first fanfiction ever, so tell me honestly what you think please ! And there are certainly a lot of grammatical errors in that chapter, but bear with me : English is not my first language (not even my second in fact), so if anyone is interested (and not too scared) in being my beta, I'm looking for one. And if someone has a better idea for the title (an idea in itself would be nice in fact, because I had none and this one is just completely unoriginal) please tell me !

I don't know when I will be updating, but I'll try to make it quick ! I can't promise anything though.

Please review !


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

"A what ?"

"A ferryman. The man you've met. You probably already guessed that, but his duty is to take the souls of the deceased to the afterlife, where it is decided whether they go to Heaven or Hell," explained Kagome.

Ray still looked sceptical. "How are we going to find him ? I don't have that feeling anymore, so I don't know where to go. We will never find him !" By now he sounded slightly hysterical, but, to his surprise, Kagome didn't look worried, she only chuckled.

"I know the feeling which guided you disappeared. It lasts only as long as the spirit has not met the ferryman. But the thing to know when you're dealing with ghosts, is that you have good chances of meeting ferrymen in the proximity of places which hold at least a bit of holy power, because it is easier for them to travel between the two worlds in such places."

"Places with holy power ? I don't understand. Do you mean shrines ?"

"Yes, but not any shrines. Those with enough power to attract a ferryman are rare. Because they are so few and since I know all of them, we just have to go to the closest one and we will certainly meet one there !" By now Kagome was grinning from ear to ear, while Ray Penber looked immensely relieved.

_Now the closest shrine is probably the Higurashi shrine, but I can't go there. Even if it is the middle of the night. Someone could see me and it would be too much of a temptation for matter how much I would like to, I can't go back to my former life._ Kagome hid her melancholy quickly and continued : "We should get going, the nearest shrine is not far away but it should still take at least 10 minutes to go there."

Ray smiled weakly and nodded, not having noticed her moment of sadness. "Yes, let's go."

They were walking in the deserted streets when Ray spoke : "Kagome, can I ask you something ?"

The miko shrugged. "Sure."

"Well, I was wondering... How can you see me ? Are you some kind of medium ?" To his surprise, Kagome burst out laughing.

"A medium ? I guess you could call me that, since I can see the souls of the dead, but it is not exactly what I am. I am a miko, someone with holy powers, that's why I can see things others can't."

"You have holy powers ? What kind of powers, besides seeing ghosts ?"

Kagome frowned and stated dryly : "I can't tell you."

"Oh. Okay." Ray muttered, taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor. But, the next second, Kagome was smiling, causing him to wonder if he had imagined her earlier attitude.

"Do you have any other question ?" she asked. Ray hesitated, then asked softly : "Yes, actually. What... what is a Death Note ?"

Kagome's smile didn't falter. She nodded and said : "Yes, I figured you would ask about that. Well, physically, it can take different shapes, but it is always something you can write on. It belongs to Shinigamis."

"What ! It is something that belongs to a god ! But then, how can a human use it ?"

"In fact, there is a Death Note for each Shinigami, and they always have to keep a Death Note on them. It is the source of their immortality : Shinigamis use their Death Note to kill humans and add the time they would have lived to their own lifetime. But if a Shinigami happen to possess two Death Notes, he can drop one in the human world."

Ray was shocked by her revelations. "But why would they do that ?"

Kagome shrugged. "Some think they can make our world better or worse if the right person finds the Death Note. And some just want entertainment. I heard their world was boring and almost dead. They're gods, it makes sense that they consider humans as mere playthings."

Something Kagome had said earlier bothered Ray. "You said they kill people with their Death Note. How do they do that ?"

The miko smiled sadly. She replied : "To kill someone with a Death Note, you only need their name and face. You write the name in the Death Note while thinking of the face and the death is inavoidable. It doesn't matter where the person you want to kill is, or if you have ever met them. You can control the cause of death, the time, the place, and even the actions of the victim before they die."

By now, the young man was thinking intently. _It can control the cause of death, then... could it..._ "Can it cause heart attacks ?"

She sighed. "You guessed correctly. Kira is a human who found a Death Note."

Stunned by this new development, Ray stopped walking. _Kira uses a Death Note ! How will L be able to arrest him if he is using a god's tool ? I know Light Yagami is Kira, but I can't tell anyone since I'm dead. Even if I revealed Kira's identity to Kagome, she wouldn't be able to get to L. If she went to the police, Light would know it and be able to kill her. I can't put her in such danger, she's too young. She must only be sixteen or seventeen. Besides, even if she talked about that to L, how could he believe her ? I wouldn't believe someone who claimed to know Kira's identity because a ghost revealed it to him. _A doubt appeared in his mind. _Does she even want Kira to be arrested ? She didn't say anything whether she approved his actions or not._

"Kagome... what do you think of Kira's deeds ?"

She remained silent for a moment before answering : "It's a difficult question. I'm not against the idea of killing criminals, but Kira is human. He can make mistakes. He may have killed innocent people. And, even if his goal is a good one –a society without criminality, who wouldn't want that ? The world he wants to create would be a tyranny, where people would live in fear. Besides, power like the power of the Death Note corrupts. He will think he has the right of life and death on everyone and won't hesitate to kill those who try to stop him. So, while I can understand his goal, I don't approve the way he chose to reach it." She had resumed walking and Ray followed her. She turned toward him without stopping and demanded : "Why did you ask me that ?"

Looking grim, Ray answered : "I was killed by Kira because I was investigating his case."

Kagome seemed shocked for a moment. "Oh. I guess you were getting too close."

"Yes. In fact, I know-"

"What can I do for you ?" Someone interrupted. Kagome smiled. "Good. We were looking for someone like you !"

They had found a ferryman.

**AN : ** There is a lot of explanations of things we already know here, so it may be boring, but it was necessary. Once again, I apologise for the mistakes that are undoubtely there and I will try to update soon. Please don't forget to review !


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

"He can't go to the afterlife" the ferryman stated sharply. "He used a Death Note. You know as well as I do, miko, what that means."

"Yes I know" sighed Kagome. The supernatural being really was irritable ! She had just mentionned that Ray wasn't allowed to leave this world and he already was hostile to the both of them ! Remembering her own reaction when the ghost had mentionned the Death Note, she took a calming breath and spoke evenly. "The problem is, he doesn't remember anything related to a Death Note. How is that possible ?"

Taken aback for a moment, the ferryman then snorted. "He must be lying to trick us and go to the afterlife. How could you fall for such an obvious invention, miko ?"

"He is not lying." Her voice was pleasant but a gleam in her eyes didn't leave any room for argument. At the same time, Ray stepped in indigned : "I'm not lying !"

The ferryman completely ignored the ghost and narrowed his eyes at the miko. He also opted for a more diplomatic approach : "I have to follow orders. It was recorded that this man wrote 11 names in a Death Note, resulting in 11 deaths. Only a Shinigami could change his punishment."

"Then I want to speak to a Shinigami." Like before, Kagome's voice was kind and civil whereas her eyes were determined. But unlike before, the man didn't take her seriously. He smiled condescendly and said : "Just because you want to speak to a Shinigami, doesn't mean you're going to. I won't disturb them for some little miko."

XxxxX

"But can't you do anything ?" Ray asked. He couldn't believe it : they had found a ferryman, but he refused to help him because his problem wasn't important enough for him ! The logical part of his brain could understand his reasoning : what was a single ghost to them, especially when he had supposedly killed eleven people ?

What puzzled him was that Kagome didn't seem upset. _Of course, she must have known it was desperate from the start. _But why did she keep smiling ? It was then that she spoke, interrupting his musings :

"I understand, you can't annoy a god because 'some little miko' wants you to." She came closer to the ferryman and talked lower, in the same sympathetic voice. "But I'm sure you would do it if the Shikon no Miko requested it."

To Ray's amazement, the ferryman seemed to pale slightly and lost contenance.

"This man doesn't lie, and he doesn't remember usind a Death Note. I find this concerning : either his memories have not been returned to him, or something is really wrong." continued the miko, acting as if she hadn't noticed the reaction she had gotten. "This is why I wish to discuss this matter with a Shinigami. You wouldn't want to be responsible for a miscarriage of justice, would you ?" At that, the man shook his head. "Of course not. Now, all I ask from you is that you go to the world of the Shinigamis and that you bring a Shinigami here so I can talk to him about this. Okay ?"

The ferryman seemed to have find his voice again. "Yes, miko-sama." And he disappeared.

Amazed by what had just happened, Ray turned toward Kagome. She grinned at him, obviously amused by the whole ordeal, and said rassuringly : "Don't worry, I'm sure that the Shinigami will listen to us. We'll find a solution."

Although he was relieved, Ray couldn't let what had just happened slide : "What was that ?"

Kagome looked embarrassed and answered "Well, he wouldn't let us see a Shinigami, so I had to persuade him." She then mumbled under her breath "I didn't mean to scare him this much though."

Her answer only increased his curiousity. "But why was he scared of you ?" It didn't make sense to him. _How can a supernatural being who takes the souls of the dead to the afterlife be afraid of a teenager ?She can see ghosts, but it doesn't make her very threatening. What else can she do ?_

"Let's just say I have a bit of influence and am quite well-known. My opinion is taken seriously."

"What about 'Shikon no Miko' ? Is that a title ?" Ray wouldn't settle for half an explanation. Kagome, seeing that he wouldn't drop the subject, sighed and went to answer.

"Yes, it is a title. Basically, it says that I'm one of the most powerful miko in the world."

"One of the most powerful ? How humble. You are the most powerful miko in the world." said suddenly a third, unknown voice.

Ray turned to discover... something.

He didn't know what it was, because it didn't look like anything he knew. It was at least two meters tall, with a human-like shape covered by green skin and ominous, glowind yellow eyes. Its hands and feet were huge and black, as were his teeth, which looked, in fact, more like fangs. It was bald and that fact made the absence od ears even more obvious. To Ray, he looked like an alien in a movie.

He barely had the time to close his mouth –which he hadn't even noticed he had opened- before Kagome spoke calmly, as if she saw Martians like that every day. Which, Ray realised, she very well could, considering she obviously was used talking to ghosts and didn't hesitate scaring ferrymen half to death.

"Hello, Shinigami. It is a pleasure meeting you."

_This thing is a Shinigami ? It doesn't look like a god to me, but what do I know ? I've never seen a god, _thought the former FBI agent.

"I see the ferryman really was quick in finding you." continued Kagome, oblivious to Ray's trouble.

"Hello, Shikon no Miko." replied the creature. "If that's really what you are. The idiot ferryman, indeed, was in a rush. He appeared right in the king's throne room, looking quite flustered, and said that the Shikon no Miko wanted to speak to a Shinigami. He didn't even see a proof of your identity. You know what I mean, miko."

She looked amused. "Yes, I had noticed he had forgotten." Then, pulling something which seemed attached to a string around her neck from under her shirt, she presented it to the Shinigami. At first, Ray thought it was a locket or something like that, but when he was able to see it properly, he saw it was a large jewel, white and pale pink. It seemed to satisfy the Shinigami who declared : "Good. Now that that's settled, what did you want to talk about ?"

**AN : **Originally I wanted this chapter to be longer, but I decided to cut it in two chapters because I wanted to post chapter 3 beforethe end of the holidays. Newt week I will go back to school and I will be taking exams until Thursday, so I don't know when I'll post the next chapter. What did you think of the description of the Shinigami ? And the new title ? And Kagome's personality ? It would help me to know what you think !

I'm happy when you review =)


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

"Very strange indeed." After Kagome had finished explaining the situation to the Shinigami, he had looked thoughtful for a moment before staring at Ray, who did his best to not fidget under his glowing yellow eyes. "I can assure you he has all his memories. And judging by his earlier reaction, he never saw a Shinigami before."

Kagome started massaging her temples, feeling a migraine coming. _How can we solve this ?_ "Do you know who he killed and when ?"

The death god grinned "I took the liberty of bringing the file. He wrote the names in a Death Note about 30 minutes before his death."

At this, something in Ray's brain clicked. "Oh god."

"Yes ?" replied te Shinigami. Kagome glared at him, but Ray was too distraught to pay attention and mumbled incoherent phrases. "It fits... eleven people... Damn !" was all Kagome could understand.

"Do you remember ?"

Ray turned toward her. His face was anguished and he half-yelled : "I didn't know ! I didn't want to kill them !"

Upon hearing this, Kagome inwardly frowned with incomprehension but kept a calm face and asked with a soothing tone : "Tell me what happened, we will find a solution."

But Ray was frantic now, and started rambling. "He tricked me. It was only writing names... I killed my colleagues. But I didn't intent to, I swear. He tricked me. I didn't know that-"

"Enough !" cut him Kagome, firmly but calmly. Her interruption seemed to bring the ghost back to reality. "I need you to tell me about everything if you want me to be able to help you."

Ray gulped, took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay." Then, in a more assured tone : "Okay. I... I was tricked."

"I may be mistaken, but I think you already said that. Twice, in fact." interfered mockingly the Shinigami. Kagome threw him a glare even nastier than the last. "Continue."

"I was a FBI agent and investigating the Kira case. He contacted me, said he would kill me, my family and my fiancee if I didn't follow his instructions. I had to write the names of the other agents who were on the case on paper in some envelopes he gave me. After that he... he killed me." Ray's face darkened again. "I killed eleven people. People I knew and worked with." He lowered his head. "I'm a murderer. Maybe I deserve to stay on earth as a ghost." He laughed bitterly, startling Kagome. "I remember thinking 'He won't be able to harm them with only their names' as I was writing. As I was killing them myself."

Not for the first time, Kagome wished she could touch him to offer him some comfort. Since she couldn't, she spoke softly, breaking the silence that had followed his words : You're not a murderer. As far as you were concerned, you just wrote some names on a piece of paper. There's no way you could have known." He was staring at her, crying silently. She smiled at him. "Kira is the only responsible."

"Do you really think so ?" he asked hopefully. She just nodded.

The Shinigami sighed. "Well, now that we know what happened, what do you want me to do ? He did use a Death Note."

The miko turned at him and looked at him disbelievingly : "He didn't know what it was ! You can't punish him for that !"

The god grinned. "It doesn't work like that, and you know it, miko." He seemed to think shortly and declared "You will have to make a deal with the Shinigami King if you want to change his situation." His grin widened. "It must be your lucky day, I'm the King's spokesperson. I can accept your propositions in the name of the King."

"Yes, it's incredible how lucky we are." Kagome's voice was dripping with sarcasm. She didn't believe one second that it was luck.

The Shinigami spoke again : "I can make a suggestion. You see, the King is annoyed by the events in the human world. He wants the Death Note back in the Shinigami realm or destroyed. If you manage to do either, I could allow this ghost to cross the border between here and the other world."

As soon as he finished, Kagome exploded : "This is not a fair deal ! You know he will become insane if he stays here too long !"

The Shinigami shrugged. "Well, you will have to work quickly, if you want him to move on with his sanity left."

The miko glared at him for what seemed the hundredth time. _This is madness ! I can't do that with such a deadline, it only takes a few weeks for a ghost to lose it ! _She forced herself to think calmly. _He knows that. He wants me to propose something else, that's why he left room for improvement. Maybe..._

"I think I have a better idea : I know it is the Shinigami King who produces the Death Notes. If I destroy the one that's here, he will have to make another. But the problem is, the common usage is to burn any Death Note found in the human realm. I could ignore this rule for once and not destroy it if I can avoid it. In exchange, you allow Mr. Penber to go now." She knew she had reached the good conclusion when the death god seemed pleased : his grin seemed to get even larger, something she didn't know was possible.

"That would be possible, miko, but once we have allowed him to go, we will not have any garanties that you will keep your end of the bargain. And it is not a fair deal either : if you destroy it, we will not have gained anything in exchange for our kindness."

_Kindness. As if, _thought Kagome. _But I have to offer garanties._ "As I said, I can't promise you to keep the Death Note intact. I will have to investigate without revealing anything about the supernatural world to normal humans. This will be, of course, my main priority. I promise you, though, that I will do my possible to not destroy it. And if there's no avoiding it, I could give you a compensation."

As soon as she had uttered those words, the Shinigami's expression became greedy. _What did I get myself into ? _"We want a wish on the Shikon Jewel." His tone said that it was not negotiable. Kagome sighed. _This is the only acceptable deal I will have. I better make sure I don't burn this thing. At least until I find a loophole._

"Okay. We have a deal." The Shinigami, surprised by how easily she had agreed, regained quickly his composure and nodded. "Very well. I will bring the ferryman back and tell him he has to take the ghost to the afterlife." And he disappeared.

Ray turned toward Kagome. "You can't do that ! Going after Kira ! Do you have any idea how dangerous this is ?"

She smiled and said "Don't worry, I'm not easy to kill."

He looked at her and muttered after a moment : "I won't be able to make you change your mind, will I ?" She shook her head. Ray continued "Then I will tell you something that will help you : I know Kira's identity."

"You do ?"

He smiled humorlessly. "Yes, I saw him just before I died. His name is Light Yagami. "

Kagome's face lit up. "This is Kira's fatal mistake. Thanks, I will not have to waste time looking for him."

The ferryman appeared suddenly, making Ray jump. He said politely : "We can go if you're ready, mister." while glancing frequently and fearfully at Kagome. The ghost looked guiltily at Kagome. "I'm sorry to have dragged you into this mess. You don't have to-"

The miko laughed and made a shooing motion with her hands. "I already told you not to worry ! Now you have to go and find your fiancee again ! Go now, or I will get mad !"

Seeing the ferryman wince at the thought of an angry Kagome, Ray chuckled. "Thank you." he said sincerely.

Kagome smiled, he took the ferryman's arm and they disappeared.

**AN : **Sorry for the long wait !

From now on, I will try to update at least **once a week**. It will most likely be on weekends, I think.

Thank you to everyone that reviewed, it means a lot to me when you take the time of telling me what you think !

What did you think of this chapter ? I attempted to add a bit of humor here, but I'm not so sure if it is not an epic fail. Tell me if I should just give up on humor or if it wasn't too terrible. I'm also not too sure if I portrayed Ray's reaction right, when he understood that he had basically killed his coworkers.

I always get a huge smile when I read your reviews ! So don't forget to review !


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

The morning after, Kagome was kicking herself repeatedly. Figuratively speaking, of course.

"How could I be so stupid ! Agreeing to this ! It seemed like a good idea at the time... but if I somehow mess this up, they will be able to make a wish on the jewel ! Stupid, stupid, stupid !"

After rambling some more on how tired she must have been to accept the Shinigami's offer, she sighed and sat down on her couch.

"Okay, let's rationalize : I can't let them make a wish. Thus I have to keep the Death Note intact."

She put her head in her hands as she was thinking. "In short, I have to track down a mass murderer who is using a Shinigami's power, and I will maybe cross paths with the best detective in the world by doing so. I must keep the secrets about the supernatural world to both of them, unless I want to risk provoking a war between humans and demons. **And **I have to bring the source of Kira's power intact to the Shinigami King, or give the Shikon Jewel to a god who's not exactly famous for his sympathy and kindness."

She groaned.

"I'm screwed."

XxxxX

"Whining isn't going to solve anything." After several minutes spent complaining to herself and pacing in her empty flat, Kagome decided to stop and try to solve her problem. "I have to work to find that Kira, or rather Light Yagami. At least, thanks to Ray, I've got his name and won't have to wander around all Kanto region searching for a evil aura or something like Shinigami magic. Could have taken weeks."

Suddenly, her phone ringed, startling her. Picking up as fast as she could, she tripped over her own feet and nearly fell, but was able to regain her balance and answered :

"Yes ?"

"Tomoyo-chan ! Where are you ? You're late for work !" The voice was her boss' and Tomoyo the name Kagome was currently using. The miko had a waitress job in a nice restaurant in Tokyo. She glanced at the clock : 11 : 26.

"I'm sorry Ishikawa-san, I had a late night and I woke up late."

"Tomoyo-chan, you should have been at work two hours ago" sighed the older woman. "I can let it pass for once but don't repeat it okay ? I want you to be on time tomorrow !"

_Tomorrow ? I will have to look for Kira. What should I do ? It will maybe take weeks before I fulfill my mission !_ Kagome sighed. She liked her job, even if waiting tables was not the most interesting job she could think of, and her coworkers and employer were rather nice. But she couldn't just take a vacation, since she didn't know how much time she would be gone, so she had to quit.

"Sorry, Ishikawa-san, but... something unexpected occured. I must take care of something, and I can't continue working at the restaurant."

"You quit ?" came the incredulous response.

"Yes. I'm terribly sorry, but I have no other choice."

"Are you sure ? You could take a vacation and deal with whatever you have to deal with, and then come back." reasoned the restaurant's owner.

"I don't know how much time it will take, yet I am quite sure it won't be short. The best for me is quitting now." She heard a sigh at the other end of the line.

"I see. Well, I guess I'll have to look for another waitress... I wish you well, Tomoyo-chan."

"Good bye, Ishikawa-san. Thank you for understanding."

After hanging up, Kagome sighed, feeling sad. To avoid thinking about it, she took her laptop and began researching the name 'Light Yagami'. "There are three Light Yagami in Tokyo. This limits my investigation."

A link leading to some newspaper site caught her eye. She clicked on it.

"Junior high school tennis championship ?"

After reading the article, she went into the kitchen to make some coffee. Like talking aloud, the familiar, mechanical motions helped her concentrate.

"According to the date of the article, he must now be seventeen, possibly eighteen." While waiting for the coffee to be ready, Kagome began eating a chocolate bar. _Kira wants to rid the world of all evil. __He's an idealist. __A teenager ? It could fit. But is this Light Yagami intelligent enough to be Kira ?_

When it was ready, she grabbed her coffee, returned to her living room with it and re-read the article.

_The young champion is obviously a sportman, but also the brightest student of his school. "He's really intelligent. Always working to stay at the top of his class too. I wonder how he does that. He's so much more dedicaced to schoolwork than me ! Our parents always say I should take example on him !" explains Sayu, his younger sister._

"Intelligent and dedicaced, huh ? Good to know."

_According to what I read, he's a good suspect. I should find his address and see if I detect a Shinigami nearby._

XxxxX

(several days later)

It was time to make her move.

Kagome had been following Light Yagami, the one who won the championship, for about a week. When she had seen he was the one she was looking for, she had done a little victory dance in her head, since she had found Kira immediately. She had been careful to conceal her aura, because she doubted a high schooler could have spotted a FBI agent following him : it must have been the Shinigami who had told him.

She had followed Kira long enough to know his habits, and she was currently in the cafe he stopped in to relax after his school day.

She grinned when she saw the brown-haired teenager step into the shop, the blue and black Shinigami after him. Kagome watched as he sat down at a table with his back to her. _Perfect, _she thought.

She stood up and grabbed the purse she had brought along for the occasion, smoothing her knee-length skirt with the other hand. She also wore light make-up : as a matter of fact, she looked like an average girl who had gotten dolled up to meet her boyfriend.

_Show time._

**AN : **And here's chapter 5 ! Finally ! I was going to post last Saturday, but the site wouldn't let me update... What do you think Kagome is planning ? I already know, but you'll have to wait for the next update !

Rayen Trenton : the Shinigami King is the ruler of the Shinigami realm and (I think) the most powerful Shinigami. It's also him who gives the Death Notes to the other Shinigamis. He will certainly be mentionned again in the story, but I don't think he will appear in the flesh. As for the chapters, I know they're not very long, and I try to change that, so we will see. Thanks for reviewing !

Please review to make me know what you think about this chapter ! It motivates me when I read your reviews (and don't hesitate to make constructive critisism, I'm after all trying to improve my writing skills : what do you think is good ? what is bad ? what should I do differently ?)


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

Light was annoyed.

He hadn't heard of L for a while and it threw him off balance, because he didn't have any way to know what the detective was planning. He tried not to think about it, since he had other things to do, like preparing for the entrance exam of the Toho University. He didn't really need to study to be sure to pass, but he wanted the first place and wouldn't settle for anything less than that. On top of that, he had to keep killing criminals with the Death Note in order to create his perfect world.

Nonetheless, he was still bothered by the total lack of initiative from L's part. He hated the idea of having to wait for him to act. _He can't have given up, he is determined to stop me even at the risk of his life, _he thought while walking in the street, ignoring Ryuk behind him who was begging for an apple._ Maybe he's out of ideas and waiting for me to make a mistake. That's not logical, why would he think I will make one now ? Perhaps he believes I will become over-confident if he doesn't do anything, maybe even think he has given up, and do something foolish. That's possible, but I think he must be preparing something. Something big. I hate not knowing, but I will deal with whatever he tries. And I will find a way to kill him ! _Light smirked, confident in his ability to defeat L.

He stepped in the café he stopped at every day at least half an hour to relax, still not paying attention to the Shinigami behind him. He sat down after paying his coffee and greeting the employee he knew well.

He was enjoying his daily ritual when suddenly two hands landed over his eyes, purposely blinding him. Fortunately, he was not drinking at this moment but reading the newspaper, otherwise he would have spilled the hot beverage in his lap.

"I found you !" said a feminine voice.

Since he couldn't see anything and didn't recognize the person who was talking, he decided to ask :

"Who's that ?"

He heard an exaggerated sigh from behind him and figured the girl, whoever she was, was pouting.

"Honestly, Kouga-kun, don't you recognize me ? Did you forget your girlfriend ?"

_Ah, I understand. From behind, she took me for her boyfriend, _thought Light. _I better tell her she's mistaken before the situation becomes awkward, and I want to finish reading before I go back home._

"Look, I think-" he started but she interrupted him.

"I know we had a fight on Wednesday, but we're here to try to mend this ! You promised to make an effort ! And now you're ignoring me, acting as if you don't know me ? Are you trying to make me understand that you want to break up ?" The girl now sounded really worried and upset. Before Light could even think of intervening, she continued : "I understand that you're angry because of that hedgehog, but it was an accident and you know it ! It was not my fault, it's not a reason to dump me !"

When she said that last sentence, Light noticed a quiver in her voice. _Shit ! If I don't do something soon, she's going to cry ! _Like most males, Light dreaded a crying woman. He stood up, removing the hands from his eyes at the same time and turned around.

The girl in front of him was truly pretty, with long black hair put in a high ponytail and pale, creamy skin. Her blue eyes, something that was quite unusual for an Asian person, were highlighted by light make-up. She wore a dark blue skirt and a black top, with a light jacket.

Light registered all of this before he noticed, to his horror, that her eyes were shining with contained tears. Her expression, at first upset, turned shocked, then embarrassed, when she saw she had been mistaken.

"Oh... Oh !"

Before either could say anything else, a cell phone ringed. The girl jumped, then searched through her purse ans answered her phone :

"Yes ?" Her face brightened. "Kouga-kun ! Yes ?" Then she frowned, in reaction to something her interlocutor said, presumed Light, and resumed talking : "What ? But... I've been waiting for 15 minutes ! Couldn't you have called earlier ?... No... It's the second time !... Look, I'll call you back this evening, when I'm at home and will be able to shout at you without everyone staring at me !... Yes... Bye." And she hung up.

She stayed still a moment, seemingly having forgotten Light, until he cleared his throat. She shook her head as if chasing troublesome thoughts, and began apologizing profusely :

"I'm sorry, I took you for someone else. You look so alike from behind ! I had a date with my boyfriend and... Anyways, I'm terribly sorry !"

"It's okay" mumbled Light, before smiling engagingly. "If I didn't misunderstood what you said, he cancelled the date. Do you want to have coffee with me ?"

She hesitated a moment before nodding. Once they were both confortably installed at the table with a cup of coffee each, he tried to engage the conversation :

"My name is Light Yagami."

She seemed surprised, then answered : "Oh, of course, I forgot to introduce myself ! How rude !" She laughed. "I'm Tomoyo Takahashi, but you can call me Tomoyo-chan. Everyone does. I'm 17 years old."

"I'm 18."

XxxxX

At least half an hour later, Light realized he had to go home soon, if he wanted to have the time to study before dinner. He smiled to Tomoyo and said :

"Sorry, I have to go. Maybe we will see each other at the exam." Indeed, when he had told her that he would go to Toho University next year, she had replied beaming that she had planned to do that too. "Well, that is if I pass the exam." She had added.

"Okay, I'll stay a bit. See you soon !"

When he was out of the café and had walked a few meters, Ryuk asked mockingly :

"Well, Light, do you like her ?"

Light frowned. Ryuk had begun laughing during the conversation, and he had had difficulties ignoring him to concentrate on what Tomoyo was saying. Apparently, the death god was really amused by something. Whatever it was was really distracting : he had even stopped begging Light for an apple. The boy asked aggresively :

"Why didn't you stop cackling ?"

The Shinigami only said : "Because I was having fun."

XxxxX

Kagome's day had been really satisfying for her. She had learnt a lot of things about Light Yagami, and not only what he had told her. Of course, she had taken advantage of the fact that he told her he would go to Toho University, the best University of Tokyo, and had made up the fact that she was also going to take the entrance exam.

Light was really confident : she had noticed that he didn't worry about the exam, which was renowned for its difficulty. _Then again, I guess a serial killer tracked by all police forces in the world can relativise the importance of an exam. And it's obvious Kira is intelligent. Light is also a good actor, he perfectly tuned out the Shinigami's horrible laugh._

Apparently, the death god was addicted to apples, and, according to what she understood form his never-ceasing blabber (caused by the withdrawal, she was sure), he had come on Earth because he was bored and not, as he liked to repeat it to the only human he knew could hear him, to 'be tortured by a boy'. It seemed also that all that was happening was a game to him, something to distract him of his boredom.

So she had acted while Light was busy picking up a spoon she had 'clumsily' dropped : she had looked directly at the Shinigami, something she had avoided before, had let her aura free for a second and mouthed the words 'Don't tell him anything' with a playful wink.

And then he had started laughing... it had given her a headache.

_That's nothing, _she thought joyfully. _I'm sure he will not tell him, otherwise he would have done it immediately. I've had everything I wanted today : the Shinigami won't tell Light anything and may give me information if it makes the 'game' more interesting, or possibly if I give him apples, and I now know how to get closer to Kira._

She went out of the café after paying her drink and headed toward her apartement, wanting to take a hot bath to relax and, more importantly, eager to wipe the make-up off her face.

_Beware, Kira and L, _she thought, _from now on there's a third player in the game._

**AN : **chapter 6 ! Finally ! I had trouble with this one... How did you find it ? Good, bad, terrible ? By the way, thanks for all the wonderful reviews you wrote ! It means a lot to me ! Oh and KagHieiLuver, all will be revealed in due time ! *grins*

From now on, I'll refer to Kagome as 'Kagome' when the story is told from her perspective, or by someone's who knows her real name, and she will be 'Tomoyo Takahashi' if it's told from the perspective of someone who only knows her under this name.

Please review and tell me what you think !


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

Unfortunately, Kagome had forgotten that, to pass an exam, you had to prepare first. Especially for an exam as complicated as the Toho entrance exam.

"Ugh... maths..."

She only had a month to revise the six subjects she would be tested on.

To her dismay, maths were one of the two most important subjects, with English. She didn't have a problem with the language, quite the contrary in fact, but she still hated maths, like at the time when she time-travelled between this era and the feudal era, even if she now understood them better than then.

She was used to work for school under a lot of pressure. After all, there were few situations which involved worse work conditions than having to prepare for tests or take them between two battles against a half-demon who wanted to take over the world by wishing on a jewel.

"If I could pass my exams then, I can do that !" she exclaimed, determined. "I have one month and I will suceed !"

XxxxX

**Exam day**

Kagome had arrived ealy so she could revise until the last minute. Despite her intensive preparation, she wasn't sure to pass and was becoming more and more nervous as time was passing.

To calm herself, she grabbed a pack of cookies from her bag : she had taken with her as much sweet things as she could, because she felt she would need a lot of sugar to keep going today.

_Everything's going to be fine._ She was repeating that sentence like a mantra in her head. _Everything's going to be really fine..._

She interrupted her musings when she noticed, sitting in front of her in the corridor and slightly leaning against the opposite wall, a man with black hair and eyes, who looked like he could use a good night's sleep. Or ten. She stood still, the cookie a centimeter away from her mouth, when she realized that he was staring at her intensely. She lowered her hand and his eyes followed the movement.

_What the... _She furrowed her brow. Was he staring at her, or at her cookie ? She wasn't sure which option disturbed her more. Kagome decided to make an experiment : she moved her hand away, extending her arm toward the right, and watched as the other's eyes didn't leave the biscuit.

Stifling a laugh, she fished another pack from her bag and cleared her throat to catch his attention. Since he didn't react, she called him :

"Hey !" No response. "Hey !" Still nothing. Kagome was starting to get annoyed. _If he doesn't respond now, I'm going to just throw it at him. _"Hey you !" He looked at her at last. "Catch !" He caught the pack skillfully, thanked her quickly and immediately begun to eat. She noticed he held the pack and cookies very delicately between his thumb and forefinger.

"Satisfied ?"

He stopped a moment to answer : "Yes, it's delicious."

She pretended to take offense to that. "Of course it's delicious ! I don't eat just anything !"

The young man looked at her without blinking for a while, making her inconfortable, and then said, expressionless : "Sorry. I didn't want to offend you."

_Didn't he understand I was just joking ?_

"And thanks again for the cookies," he added.

"Oh, it's nothing." Dismissing his thanks with a hand motion, she explained "I took plenty with me, I tend to eat when I'm nervous."

"Are you nervous because of the exam ?"

"Yes. Aren't you ?"

"No"

"Really ?" She exclaimed, surprised. "But it's one of the most difficult entrance exams in Japan !" Shaking her head, she muttered, more for herself than for her interlocutor : "Just like Yagami-kun. Not stressed at all."

The man in front of her suddenly looked interested. "Did you say Yagami ?"

"Err... Yes. Why, do you know him ?"

"No, but I... heard about him."

He didn't seem to want to continue and she became aware that she didn't know his name, so she introduced herself : "My name is Tomoyo Takahashi. And yours ?"

He stared at her for a moment, studying her, before answering. "Ryuuga Hideki."

"Like the singer ?" He just nodded, without looking away from her.

None of them added anything and Kagome returned to her revisions. After a while, Ryuuga spoke again.

"How do you know Light Yagami ?"

Kagome blushed while remembering the scene she made at the café. _Well, it was fun._ "Oh, it was an accident. I took him for someone else and we talked a bit after that. Why do you want to know ?"

He shrugged. "Just curious."

Looking at him, Kagome didn't see anything else than that. Curiosity. Yet she had the feeling there was something else that she couldn't decipher, a situation that was quite unusual for her. She was usually very skilled at finding what other people were hiding, or at least see a hint on their faces. But not here. Whatever he was hiding, he would only show it when – if he wanted to.

He opened his mouth to say something when the professor interrupted them : "You can go into the examination room now ! The first part of the exam will begin in 15 minutes !"

Once installed, they were at different sides of the room. _Too bad, _thought Kagome. _We will be able to talk again another time. He seemed interested by Light Yagami, I'm willing to bet he wasn't interested by what I was saying until I said his name. Why is he interested in him, though ?_

Shaking her head to chase those thoughts, she concentrated on her notes and the exam to come.

XxxxX

**The day of the commencement ceremony at Toho University**

_Finally, this hard work paid ! _thought Kagome, excited, while looking at the head making a speech.

She had done a little victory dance (in the privacy of her appartement) when she had received her admission letter.

_And to think it was the easy part of my mission. _She sighed, her good mood spoiled by this. Managing to gain Light Yagami's trust enough to be able to steal the Death Note from him was going to be difficult. Really difficult. _But it s a good start ! If everything goes as smoothly as that, it will be perfect ! _Indeed, she had not just barely passed the exam, but had gotten a high score too. _I just have to bide my time._

Her attention was caught by the head announcing the freshmen representatives. _Two representatives ?_ People chatting beside her informed her that they had both had perfect scores in maths and English. _Wow... Perfect scores ? Is that even possible ?_

She raised her head to try to see the stage, but the guy before her was really tall, and being herself rather small, she couldn't see anything. When the principal called their names, she was stunned. _Yagami-kun ? And Ryuuga Hideki, it was that guy I talked to before the exam. No wonder that neither of them was nervous about the exam._

She watched them (or tried to) give their speech and then walk off stage. Suddenly, Light turned toward Ryuuga and shook his hand, then returned to his seat.

_What happened here ? It seemed like he told him something, but what ?_

XxxxX

When the ceremony ended, Light was still in shock because of what Hideki Ryuuga had revealed to him. Or should he call him L ?

_He trapped me, I can't do anything. If I write his name, I'm pretty sure I will think about the singer, and L will know I'm Kira the second the pop idol dies. If I manage to kill the right Ryuuga Hideki and if he's not L, the real L will arrest me. He cornered me._

He was still mulling over his defeat while heading toward the exit, when he heard his name being called. Turning around, he caught sight of Tomoyo who was walking toward him.

"Yagami-kun ! Wait for me !" When she arrived at his level, she began talking at a terrifying speed : "See, I did it ! I managed to pass the exam ! I didn't think I would, but I did it !"

_Come on, calm yourself ! Be natural ! _"Yes, that's... good, "he said while trying to smile. He immediately wanted to kick himself for his pathetic performance.

Clearly alerted by his lack of enthusiasm, Tomoyo looked at him sceptically. "You don't seem so good. Are you okay ?"

"Yes, it's just... the stress. You know, I'm not used to speaking in front of so many people, it's really upsetting."

She stared at him through half-lidded eyes. Light suddenly had the feeling she was studying him and felt really inconfortable. At the café, he had quickly come to the conclusion that Tomoyo was an intelligent and quick-witted girl, yet a bit naive. Was he mistaken ? Was there more to her than what meets the eye ?

Then she smiled brightly and he relaxed, feeling foolish. Of course he wasn't mistaken on her ! Tomoyo was just too innocent to lie or conceal anything. The incident with Ryuuga Hideki / L had shaken him up and made him paranoid for a moment.

"Yes, I understand," she said. "The last time I had to speak in front of my class, I was so stressed I couldn't speak without stuttering. Then I remembered what one of my friend had told me, a method to relax : she said I had to picture the teacher naked. I did it and started laughing like mad. I couldn't stop ! And I never finished my oral presentation..."

She sounded so disappointed that Light couldn't help it : he let out a small chuckle she immediately noticed.

"Why are you laughing ? It's not funny ! It's tragic !" she said in an outraged tone. It only made him laugh louder.

"What a child..." she said shaking her head, but he saw a small smile on her lips.

XxxxX

Not far from there, L was watching the interaction between Tomoyo and Light. The two seemed to know each other well or, at least, enjoy each other's company. He grabbed his cell phone to call Watari.

"_Yes ?"_

"Watari ,it's me. I want you to do some research on Tomoto Takahashi."

"_Okay, let me a few days to gather the informations."_

"Perfect."

XxxxX

A few days later, Watari called L at the university.

"_I have the informations you asked for."_

"Well ?"

"_At first sight, everything seems normal : Takahashi Tomoyo, born October the 24__th__ 1993-"_

"At first sight ?" L cut him.

"_Yes. In fact, her file is perfect, nothing suspicious. What intrigued me was the fact that she lives alone."_

"She's only seventeen."

"_Exactly. I made a research on her parents, Takahashi Fuyuki and Natsumi. They don't exist."_

"Are you sure ?"

"_Yes. There's two Takahashi Natsumi : one is four years old, and the other single, without children. The only Takahashi Fuyuki in our data base has two children, but no Tomoyo. I then investigated in the schools she is supposed to have studied in : no one knows her ; not the teachers nor the former pupils in her year."_

L's brain was working hard, trying to find a solution to this mystery. _Who is she then ? And how could she obtain such an almost perfect false identity ?_

He asked Watari : "Did you check if she's not a protected witness ?"

"_Yes, and she's unknown there too."_

"Okay, thanks."

L hung up and sat on a bench in his usual posture to think.

"Just who is this girl ?"

**AN : **I'm late, I know... But, on the bright side, this chapter is longer than the others ! I can't garantee every chapter will be like that, but I will try. Don't expect another update before the next week-end though : I have an essay to write for my Literature class on a book I hate. And it's for Thursday. But after this week I will be on holidays !

KagHieiLuver : it's not torture, just withholding of informations for the sake of the suspense ! Though I admit, when someone does that, I have an urge to break something of his (preferably a limb or two) but since you don't know where I am, I'm safe... I think *looks nervously behind her shoulder*

KEdakumi : Kagome thinks, since she is basically send by the Shinigami King, that Ryuk could maybe help her to avoid being punished, and maybe also because she will be able to blackmail him with apples.

To everyone who reviewed : THANK YOU ! It really means a lot to me !

Don't forget to review please =)


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

In her kitchen, Kagome was preparing her lunch before going to class.

Humming happily, she thought back on her first week of class : she had met some girls she often discussed with, but still spent a lot of time with Light, and consequently with Ryuuga, since the two were seldom apart.

Everything reminded her of the time when she still went regularly to school, before her 15th birthday, when her only worries were about grades and boys. She almost ended up forgetting that she had a very important mission and had to stop a mass murderer. Of course, she was always on her guard when she was with Light, and something in his manners was too... nice and pleasant to be totally truthful. Ryuuga, on the contrary, was sometimes brutally honest, but Kagome couldn't shake off the feeling that he was hiding a lot of things.

_Well, with me and Light/Kira, we seem to be a good trio of dissemblers._

Yet she rather enjoyed Ryuuga's company : he was quiet most of the time, and didn't speak unless he had something interesting or accurate to say. Which made him someone she liked to be around when she didn't want to talk. Unfortunately, she could rarely afford to stay quiet very long, since the role she played for Light included talking a lot. But she knew the dark-haired young man wouldn't try to fill the silence every time no one was speaking. _And, _she thought blushing, _as cliché as it souds, I like his eyes. They're curious but they don't judge you. People who don't judge someone after five minutes are too rare._

Speaking of him, he seemed to be more and more interested in her. He was asking a lot of questions about her personal life, like where she was from, what her parent's job was, where she lived. Luckily, she had learned all the informations about her false identity by heart and had enough experience by now to not show her surprise or embarrassment when he asked he question she didn't expect, and could make believable answers. She had high hopes that she wouldn't get herself muddled up in her lies.

Suddenly, her phone rang, interrupting her musings. She jumped and cut herself with the knife she was holding. Blood began oozing from the cut.

"Shit ! Ow..."

She grabbed a tissue and pressed it against the wound to try to stop the bleeding. Then she answered the phone with her valid hand.

"Yes ?"

"Takahashi-san, we need to talk." Said a voice she knew well. _But why is he using my false name ?_

"But-" she began, but was stopped.

"In an hour, at the café." Then he hang up.

Kagome frowned. For him to call her so, without giving any details, there must be a problem. She couldn't do anything but go meet him. She sighed and looked down at her hand. Under the blood, there wasn't any cut anymore.

XxxxX

An hour later, Kagome was at the café they always used to meet in such circumstances. She quickly spotted the one who had called her and sat down in front of him.

Sesshomaru looked up from the book he was reading. His demonic features, as well as his white hair and golden eyes, were concealed by a charm : he looked like a normal human, with long black hair, brown eyes and a business suit.

Without giving him the time to say anything, she asked : "Why did you want to see me here ?"

"You weren't followed ?" Kagome rolled her eyes. "No, I checked. I'm always careful when you call me and act like that. What's going on ?"

"Someone is keeping you under surveillance. Your phone line's been bugged."

This abrupt revelation shocked Kagome. Sesshomaru continued : "I know you quit your job and passed the exam to enter Toho University. Why did you do that ?"

This shook her out of her stupor. "Are you watching me ?" When he didn't say anything she nearly exploded. "You don't have the right to do that ! I'm perfectly fine ! Don't you trust me ?"

Sesshomaru motioned for her to stop. "I do trust you. But you attracted attention on yourself. Enough so that whoever noticed you is watching you closely. Who do you think it is ?"

She calmed herself and thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose there's two possibilities. It could be Kira or that detective, L. But I don't really know which one."

The demon lord stared at her coolly. "Why would they be interested in you ?"

Kagome blushed in embarrassment. _How do I tell him that without him killing me ?_ "In fact, I... kind of made a deal with the Shinigami King."

He raised an eyebrow. "A deal ?"

She fidgeted nervously. "I have to find Kira and bring back the tool he's using to kill, in exchange for him allowing a soul to cross the border."

"Is the soul already in the other world ?"

_Shit, I should have known better than to think he would be satisfied by that._ She sighed. "Yes." He raised an eyebrow. "Then what did you offer in compensation if you don't manage to bring the thing back ?"

She cringed and said quickly : "A wish on the Shikon no Tama."

There was silence for a moment, and Sesshomaru's face was unreadable. Finally he spoke calmly : "I hope you know what you are doing, Kagome. The consequences could be dire if the Shinigami King were to make a wish on the jewel."

"I know the risks, and I will not fail."

He nodded. "Good."

XxxxX

The day after, Kagome was back to school. Her talk with Sesshomaru had reminded her that she couldn't afford to be distracted, so the feeling of happiness she had had since the beginning of the school year had somewhat disappeared.

She had thought about who would want to tap her phone the last day and had come to the conclusion that Light Yagami didn't have the ressources to do so without attracting unwanted attention. So it had to be L. _Looks like the detective's closer to Kira than I thought. I can't decide if that's good or bad._

As she was walking, she spotted a large group of people. _Isn't that the tennis court ?_ Puzzled, she approached and saw that it was Light and Ryuuga playing tennis against each other. She was stunned by the quality of their game. She watched a few minutes before spotting the Shinigami who was in a corner. A quick glance toward Light confirmed he was completly focused on the game.

_Maybe that's my chance to talk to him,_ she thought. She made her way to the outside of the court, just beside the god, but still separated from him by the wire fencing. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she pressed it against her ear and let her power flare for a brief moment.

As she had planned, the Shinigami turned around like he had been stung by a wasp. When he spotted her, she smiled brightly, ignoring his glare.

"Hello ! What is going on ?"

He looked at her suspiciously, before asking her : "Why would I tell you ? It would be funnier to let you figure everything on by yourself" he added with a disturbing grin before turning around again to watch the game.

Kagome hesitated. Even with her cell phone, she couldn't say some things without attracting attention on herself. 'I was sent by the Shinigami King' was bound to sound suspicious to anyone who heard her. And there was a whole crowd aroud her. She already knew she was under surveillance : she couldn't take such a risk. So she just said "Your boss's worried."

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and asked : "The Shinigami King sent you ?" She was satisfied to hear concern in his voice. "Yes," she said simply, "he wants everything to stop."

The god shook his head. "He's angry with me because I played him, I guess. But I don't want that to stop just yet. You'll have to convince Light to stop yourself. Or to kill him."

Kagome shuddered at the last sentence, but still tried to sound threatening : "He won't be pleased, you know that."

He chuckled and admitted "I know that, but I would do anything to stay away from our world. Gambling is only fun for a while, you see, Kagome Higurashi."

Surprised, she blinked. _Ah yes, he can see my name._ "But the game wouldn't be a lot of fun if you told Yagami about me, ne ?"

"No, I will let him find out by himself, he's intelligent enough. Plus, I'm kind of looking forward to see his reaction when he learns you're not as innocent as he thinks."

It was Kagome's turn to be amused. "He thinks I'm innocent ?"

The death god nodded. "As innocent as a day-old baby."

_I wish. _

He continued. "But as a token of my honesty, I will tell you one thing that will interest you. I suppose you don't want a war between humans and demons to begin."

"Of course not !" she answered, shocked.

"Then it will be useful for you. You see the guy Light's playing against ?" When she nodded he revealed : "Well, he told Light that he was L, and that he suspected him of being Kira."

"What !" _Ryuuga is L ! __That's incredible ! L really was closer than I thought. _"Why are you telling me that now ?"

The Shinigami grinned. "The King will be less than pleased that I gave the Death Note to a human, but to trigger an inter-racial war is another matter entirely than killing some humans."

She nodded, still shocked by the fact that L would risk his life by approaching Kira.

XxxxX

After losing the match to Light, L spotted Tomoyo Takahashi talking into a cell phone near the tennis court. She had not been in class the day before, and he wondered who she had met. Watari had intercepted the call she had received, but they didn't have enough trusted policemen to make one follow her. More importantly, he couldn't voice his suspicions about her to the other member of the squad, since it would only reinforce Soichiro Yagami's conviction that his son was not Kira. L didn't need more opposition than he already had to face.

When she caught sight of him watching her, Tomoyo quickly shut her phone and waved at him. He nodded in response and reported his attention on Light.

_I can worry about her later, I have to confuse Light a bit more now._

XxxxX

Kagome wandered away from the court, mulling over what the Shinigami –Ryuk, he had said his name was- has told her.

_Now I know why I'm under surveillance, he must have doubts about me because I'm with Light a lot. That's also why he was so interested when I said his name at the exam day. And he is using the popstar Ryuuga Hideki's name to prevent Light from killing him. Very clever._

_But could he discover my real identity ? Better yet, does he know I'm using a fake one ? He must have good ressources, so I can't exclude this possibility. _She thought back to her discussion with Sesshomaru the day before.

Flashback

"You know, your phone call will only make them more suspicious about me." She said.

Sesshomaru sipped his tea. When he put the cup down, he answered nonchalantly : "You will have to change your identity after everything is done. And maybe move to another part of the country. We will see about that when you fixed that mess you created."

Kagome huffed, crossing her arms. "I didn't create any mess ! I didn't say to the Shinigami to give his Death Note to a human, or force said human to think he is some kind of god ! None of this is my fault !"

The demon stared coldly at her, clearly not convinced by what she had just said.

End flashback

_Move ?_ Even if she knew it was the best solution, she didn't want to move. She wanted to be near her family. Well, as near as she could be without endangering her mother, grandfather and brother.

_I suppose I will deal with that when I have to. No use worrying about that now._

**AN : **I finally did it !

Don't forget to tell me what you think, reviews are always appreciated !


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

Kagome was abruptly woken up by her alarm clock, which was beeping madly. She groaned in her pillow before pushing herself up on an elbow to glance at the time on her clock.

_Six thirty. I could stay a little longer in bed. Maybe even 'accidentaly' miss the first class..._

Giving up to the temptation, she decided to get up a little later. She wouldn't have the time to prepare her lunch, but she could still buy something on the way or at the university.

As she was laying on her back in her bed, her thoughts drifted to the subject that had kept her awake last evening, until late in the night : she couldn't decide how to act around Ryuuga, now that she knew that he was at least linked to L, if not L himself.

_On one hand, he could not be L and only be pretending to lure Light into a trap. But even in that case, the real L is not far, and keeps a close eye on both Light and me. If Ryuuga's L's collaborator, I already need to be extra careful. But if he's really L, it will be nearly impossible for me to keep my secrets to myself. His detective skills are impressive. I will be playing a close game._

Kagome sweared softly. That was not what she has planned ! Ironically, if Light had been cleverer at covering his tracks, or if L had been less bright, her job would have been so much easier, and she would have had more time.

_Looks like I underestimated L. How did he find Light ? Penber had told me that he was following Light, but he wasn't the only FBI agent on the Kira case in Japan. I think he said they were twelve. Were they all following someone ? If that's the case, there could be eleven other 'L' approaching the other suspects._

_Yet I have trouble believing Ryuuga's an imposter. For me, he doesn't act or look like a well-known detective. Why would they pick such a young man to play the role ? Someone older would have been more credible. Unless they thought Light would react like that._

Feeling a headache beginning, she buried her face into a pillow. _I'm only confusing myself. I don't have any information on L, no matter how hard I look. I can't be sure of anything. Maybe Ryuuga's L, and maybe he's not._

XxxxX

When Kagome arrived in the classroom, there was still a few minutes left before class started. She noticed a group of girls who were discussig animatedly. Upon seeing her, theu motionned her to join them.

She hesitated, glancing at a corner of the room where she could see Light and Ryuuga together. She would have liked better to go takl with them, but headed all the same toward the four or five girls.

The one who had told her to come, Yumi, had a huge grin on her face, and looked so excited that Kagome wouldn't have been surprised if she had bagun to jump up and down out of eagerness. The miko frowned slightly.

_What is she so excited for ? I don't like that, it doesn't bode well._

When she was near enough, Yumi almost jumped on her. Kagome had to take a step back to be able to look at her without squinting.

"Tomoyo ! You have to tell me absolutely everything !" she said so quickly Kagome almost didn't understand her.

"What are you talking about ?"

Yumi pouted and looked at her disapprovingly. "Don't even try to play dumb ! You know exactly that I'm talking about you and Light Yagami ! What's happening between you two ? You better tell me everything there is to know !"

She felt her jaw drop. "Me and... ? But... What makes you think... ?"

The young girl rolled her eyes. "It's obvious ! You're so often with him ! What, did you think no one would notice ? It's _Light Yagami_ !" She pronounced his name as if he was some kind of god. "Handsome, smart, kind... Perfect boyfriend material ! Half the female population of the university would cut off a limb to get a single date with him ! Did you not notice the jealous glances you get when you're with him ?"

To say Kagome was shocked was an understatement. She knew, of course, that many girls in the school saw Light as the perfect boyfriend -and she had been amused by that, knowing he was a serial killer-, but she hadn't thought one second that they would be jealous of her. It was true that she was often with him, but she didn't want to date him, just to stop Kira.

"No... That's not that... You see, it's like that..." were the only words she could think of to defend herself. _What am I supposed to say ? 'It's simple, really. Light Yagami is Kira, and I have to stop him from killing people or let a big bad god wish on a magical jewel. So I spend time with him to get him to trust me. Oh, and I'm in this mess because I wanted to help a ghost'. No, definitely not._

Unexpectedly, someone cane to her rescue. "You know, Yumi, maybe she's really not interested in Light." said Hana, a tall girl with brown hair and blonde highlights.

_Hana, you're my savior ! _Kagome thought with huge gratitude.

Hana continued : "Ryuuga is always with them too. Perhaps it's him Tomoyo has a crush on ?" she asked with a small smirk directed at Kagome.

Said girl felt, once again, her jaw drop.

"But... well..." was all that she could say to that. To her horror, she also felt her cheeks heat slightly.

Fortunately, none of the girls noticed, since they were all staring at Hana with a look of disbelief on their faces. Finally Yumi broke the silence shouting "How can you think that ? What's wrong with you ?"

The other girls immediately shushed her, not wanting to attract the attention of the subjects of their gossip. Yumi spoke again, more calmly : "Don't you think he's creepy ? Always slouched, he looks like he has never seen a comb nor had an good night's sleep in his entire life ! Light's way more better looking !"

Oddly, Kagome was a little bothered by the girl's jugement. Sure, her description of his physical appearance was accurate, but he was in no way creepy ! Light and his seemingly kind and attentionate attitude disturbed her more, but it was obviously an effect from knowing he killed dozens of criminals after having done his homework (he was so dedicaced to his studies he wouldn't do anything before his schoolwork).

Hana's reply took her back to reality. "He nay not be as good-looking as Light, but he's as smart as him. Maybe Tomoyo likes her men smart."

Before she could think of an intelligent answer, Nagisa, a rather shy girl, intervened quietly : "Maybe you're wrong." When she saw that they were all watching her and waiting for her to continue, she blushed, but resumed : "I mean, she doesn't necessarily have to like one of them. She could just want to be friend with them ?" Her voice rose slightly at the end of her sentence, making her affirmation sound like a question.

Yumi stared at her as if she had just spoken hebrew. "That's not possible." At the curious looks she received, she elaborated : "There's no such thing as friendship between a guy and a girl, everyone knows that," with a tone of finality.

Kagome frowned. She had a lot of male friends ! She opened her mouth to tell her that when a voice behind her got ahead.

"You don't think a guy and a girl can be friends ?" asked Light. She turned around and, sure enough, he was there with Ryuuga at his side.

"How long have you been here ?" she asked, caught off guard.

Light looked at the same time intrigued and amused. "We just arrived. Why ? Did you say something we weren't supposed to hear ?"

Kagome tried hard not to blush, look at Ryuuga, or worse, do both. She spoke in a rather confident voice she was really proud of : "No, but you should know it's rude to eavesdrop on private conversations."

Light grinned. "But you have nothing to be embarrassed of, Tomoyo. I already know you have a boyfriend. Well, that is, if he survived your wrath."

Kagome blinked, not expecting that. The girls behind her, especially Yumi, gasped.

"You have a boyfriend ? How come you never told us ?"

Embarrassed by the unwanted revelation, Kagome shrugged in a nonchalant way. "We aren't together anymore," she explained curtly. The others mistook her reluctance to talk about it for a sign that something had gone terribly wrong with their relationship and didn't press the matter.

"Why ?" asked Ryuuga. The girls glared at him but he either didn't notice or chose to ignore them. He stared at her, waiting for an answer.

"It's a really personal question, you know," Kagome replied icyly. He looked at her a bit longer before apologizing.

"I didn't want to offend you, Tomoyo-chan." he added.

_Mmh. He doesn't look like he's very sorry. _

Breaking the silence, Light cleared his throat and asked : "Tomoyo-chan, I wanted to ask you if I could borrow your Literature notes from yesterday, since I wasn't there..."

She nodded. "Yeah, of course you can."

"Could I copy them too ?" Ryuuga cut in.

Everyone waited with baited breath for Kagome to refuse more or less violently, thinking she was still mad at him for prying. So they were shocked when she shrugged and said : "Yes, if you want to, you can. I want them back for Monday though."

She saw that the others didn't understand her reaction, but Ryuuga hadn't upset or hurt her, since her boyfriend didn't exist. _Well, Kouga does exist, but he isn't my boyfriend._

At this moment, the bell rang and everyone had to go sit down to wait for the professor to arrive.

XxxxX

After school, Kagome was walking toward the exit when she heard her 'name' being called behind her. Turning around, she saw it was Ryuuga. She waited for him to catch up with her before asking "What do you want ?" rather rudely. Wincing at her own tone, she apologised. "Sorry, I'm just tired and I still need to go to the grocery store. What can I do for you ?"

Ryuuga tilted his head to the side and replied : "You're going to the store now ? And alone ? It's almost night, you shouldn't walk alone in the streets, it could be dangerous for a girl."

Feeling quite offended, Kagome narrowed her eyes at him and forced herself to speak calmly. "I will be all right, you shouldn't worry for me."

Ryuuga stared at her blankly. He was actually taller than her, but was so hunched his face was almost at the same level than hers. He then said : "I wanted to talk to you, is it okay if I walk with you ?"

Kagome thought quickly. He obviously wanted to know more about her, and she wanted to know more about him. She had enough time to talk with him, but he would maybe gain enough informations about her to find out who she was._ If I refuse his offer, I would be even more suspicious for him, but accepting would be taking the risk that he discovers something. Yet I will never make progress in my task if I don't do something._

She sighed. "Fine, you can come with me, but we need to get going. I want to be at the store before it closes." Without waiting for his answer, she turned around and begun walking. He was almost immediately by her side, keeping pace with her rather quick pace without trouble.

_Of course, he's got longer legs than me. Sometimes I would really like to be taller, _she mused.

When he didn't say anything, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Well ? I thought you had to talk to me ?"

"What do you think about Light Yagami ?"

Kagome blinked. _Well, he is blunt._ She shrugged and answered to his question : "He's a rather nice guy. I think he wants everyone to like him."

Ryuuga seemed interested. "Really ? What makes you think that ?"

She thought for a moment and replied "It's just an impression. He never seems to get angry or upset. When I met him, I embarrassed us both in a café because I took he was someone else, and he invited me to coffee. It may be just me, or he could just be a charmer, but in my opinion, he's trying to make a good impression on everyone." She then looked at Ryuuga curiously and asked : "And you, what do you think ?"

He stared right in front of him for a moment, seemingly thinking about what she had just said. He then spoke : "I can see why you say that, but does that mean you think he's a hypocrite ?"

Kagome waved her hands in front of her, as if to defend herself. "Don't make me say what I didn't say !" she exclaimed a bit angrily. "I told you it was an impression of mine, he could really be that nice for all I know ! And even if he's not, everyone plays a role for the others ! It's not a good or a bad thing, simply a fact."

The boy looked surprised by her outburst. She took a deep breath. "Sorry for that. I just don't like it when people assume something. Or distort what I really mean. I don't want to have problems with Light because of what I told you, okay ?"

He just nodded.

XxxxX

L was not happy.

After they had gone to the grocery store and Tomoyo had bought all that she wanted, they has taken the direction of her appartement, talking about school and classes. Somehow she had tricked him in carrying the heaviest bags, and his arms were really hurting. He couldn't just leave because he wanted to find out more about her and ask her what she thought about Kira, but since he wasn't the most social person, he just didn't know what to say.

_Maybe I should ask her bluntly like how I did before... But if she has a connection to Kira, she will be wary if I ask her that out of the blue. So I better begin with something else._

"You said you lived alone. Why ?"

She looked briefly at him before answering. "I live alone since I turned seventeen. I wanted to have my own place."

"Do you have problems with your parents ?"

She looked down for just a second before catching herself and raising her head again. "Yes, in fact I haven't seen them for a while now." She hesitated, then resumed talking : "I didn't see them a lot when I lived with them too, they were always working or travelling for work, and when they were at home we would argue because I wanted to become a writer, whereas they thought it wasn't a good enough job for me. Actually, they didn't even think it was a job. After a while, we reached an agreement : they let me find a flat and help me pay for it, and I continue studying in case I change my mind and choose a 'real' job, ie a well-paid, secure job."

L knew her story was probably invented, but couldn't help but wonder if there was a part of truth in it. Who were her parents ? Were they dead ? If not, did they know that their daughter lived under a false identity ? He couldn't understand what could bring a seventeen-year-old girl to lead that kind of life. She had to have good connections to acquire a cover-story like hers.

_For how long has she been doing this ?_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a group of people approching them. Looking up, he saw four men, one of which staggered a bit, heading toward them. Tomoyo had spotted them too and was eyeing them warily. He noticed he had unconciously tensed his shoulders. Those people looked like trouble.

Once the men were in speaking distance of them, the one who appeared to be the leader of the group spoke :

"Hey kids ! Do you need help with those bags ?" His tone was cheerful, but L didn't like how he was staring at the girl beside him. Plus, he could smell a faint odor of alcohol coming from them.

So he shook his head. "No, we will be fine, but thanks for the offer." He tried to continue on his way but the man, who was much larger than him, blocked the path, standing much too close for L's comfort. This time, when he spoke, the detective smelled his alcoholic breath almost too well.

"C'mon, I'm sure we could lend you a hand. And you could repay us by giving us the beer you surely have in those." He gestured at the bags L was carrying. Then his gaze came back on Tomoyo. "Or your girlfriend could thank us personally." He winked at her.

He felt her tense beside him, and without thinking twice about it, positionned himself between her and the four men. One of them made a step toward them. "Don't be foolish, kid. You're out-numbered. Your pretty girlfriend has to come with us." He smirked. "We will show her what real men are."

"I most certainly won't come with you." Tomoyo said, disgust lacing her voice. L glanced at her. _Odd. She seems annoyed and on her guard, but not scared. Maybe she's not realising what is happening._

He was stuck. He could obviously not let them have their way, but he would be alone against four. Though he was confident in his fighting skills, the chances of him winning were slim. He put down the grocery bags and got into a defensive stance.

Suddenly, Tomoyo stepped from behind him and stood at his side. She looked very calm, as if she hadn't just be threatened of a gang rape.

"What are you doing, Tomoyo-chan ?" he asked, put off by her attitude. She scoffed.

"I'm helping you ! Even if you were a good fighter, I highly doubt you would be able to defeat them by yourself."

Before he had the chance to ask her if she knew how to fight, the leader had swung his fist at him. He dodged it and kicked the man in the ribs. The air escaped his lungs loudly, but another man tried to grab his shoulder. L narrowly escaped and stepped back so he could see the three men that faced him.

_Wait, three ?_

Sounds of fighting came from his left. He couldn't look without taking his eyes off his adversaries. He hit one of them, who was charging him, in the knee, causing the articulation to break. The man collapsed and another jumped toward L, who ducked a punch aimed at his nose just in time and retaliated by a sidekick in the temple. He was careful to only render him unconscious. He was about to head toward the last one, the leader, when the sound of a body falling to the ground caught his attention.

He turned around, expecting to see Tomoyo on the ground. Instead, she was crouched on the ground, in front of the fourth man who laid on the floor. She seemed to be watching him to make sure he wouldn't attack her again. She raised her head and gave him a brief smile, before looking alarmed.

"Behind you !"

Realising his mistake, L spun around but wasn't able to dodge the punch in time. He staggered a few steps back and distantly noticed he had a split lip.

The man was going to punch him a second time, and L was too disoriented to try to dodge, when Tomoyo came from behind him, jumped and kicked his adversary in the nose. There was an ominous crack. The man looked shocked and tried to stop the flow of blood from his nose with his hands. Upon seeing that Tomoyo was ready to strike again, he turned tail and fled, abandoning his companions.

L had regained his senses by then, and when the girl turned to look at him worriedly, he just said : "I believe you broke his nose. Good job."

XxxxX

(A few minutes earlier)

Of course this had to happen today. Any other day she would have been alone and could hae disposed of these men without any trouble, but today she was reluctant to fight. Well, to fight in front of Ryuuga.

But it seemed like she didn't have any choice. She didn't know how good of a fighter he was, but one against four was suicide. And she couldn't let him fend for himself and just leave when he tried to defend her.

So Kagome stood by his side, concentrated on fighting without looking too experienced in the area.

One of the men attacked him, and that announced the beginning of the brawl. Apparently, they didn't think she was a threat, since only one of them came after her, the others went against her companion.

_Fools. I'm the danger here._

She dodged and blocked all the man's punches and kicks. He didn't have a very good balance and kept leaving a huge hole in his guard. _And he's drunk. I'm almost insulted._ She saw that Ryuuga was doing a good job of getting rid of his opponents, and that he had quite an effective style of fighting, with powerful kicks and impeccable balance.

Her adversary tried to punch her, and she acted on instinct : she took his arm and twisted it behind his back, dislocating his shoulder. His face contorted in pain and his knees buckled, sending him to the ground. She crouched down beside him, checking if he had had enough.

_Yep, the pain was too much for him and he fainted. What a sissy, _she thought with slight contempt. When she looked up, she noticed Ryuuga staring at her. She gave him a small smile before spotting the man attacking him behind his back.

"Behind you !" He was too late to dodge the punch and the blow made him take a few steps backwards. Without thinking, she ran, jumped in front of him and kicked the man in the face. A very satisfying 'crunch' told her she had broken the cartilage.

Not wanting to fight anymore, he ran away. She turned to check how Ryuuga was doing and saw a bit of blood that was trickling from his lip.

"I believe you broke his nose. Good job."

Kagome laughed and took the bags that had miraculously been spared by the fight and were still intact, rummaged through them and found handkerchiefs. She handed one to Ryuuga. "Try to stop the blood with that, my appartement is not far away. We will have that cleaned there."

He nodded and began dabbing at his wound with the handkerchief.

She took the bags grumbling and begun walking. "This never happened before, and I take this way to go home everyday !" She glared mockingly at him. "I'm sure it's you that brought bad luck on me."

Ryuuga raised an eyebrow. "More like bad luck on me, I think. I'm the one who got injured."

She smiled slightly. "If we follow this logic, it was them who got the worse luck." With her chin, she gestured to the men sprawled on the floor behind them. "They're either unconscious or unable to get up. The leader has a broken nose. You have a split lip. It's easy to say who ran out of luck today."

"And you don't seem injured." He pointed. "Are you that good at fighting ?"

She scoffed. "At least I know not to turn my back to my opponent. And my adversary was drunk. He could barely walk straight," she exaggerated.

"But that kick was impressive. Did you learn martial arts ?" Apparently he wasn't willing to drop the matter.

"Yes, someone taught me how to spar. And before you ask, it was a friend of my parents. He looked after me when... when my parents couldn't."

He nodded. Wanting to change the suject, she asked : "And you ? You were doing pretty good till you turned around. What was that style of fighting ?"

"Capoeira. I learned it when I was young." He didn't seem willing to say anything else, so she kept silent and tried to balance herself with the shopping bags in her hands and her shoulder bag.

XxxxX

He didn't know what he expected her appartement to be like, but it was certainly not this. The walls were a pale cream color, she had some cheap pieces of furniture, which appeared to be only the strict necessary. He couldn't see any pictures of her or her friends, but she had some posters on the walls, which represented landscapes and famous monuments.

"Do you like travelling ?" he asked, gesturing at the nearest picture, a large sunset on New York.

"Yes, my parents took me sometimes with them when I was little, but I never got to see much. I hope I will be able to travel by myself later." Tomoyo smiled wistfully, then shook her head and lead him to a chair. "Sit down, I have some disinfectant in the bathroom." She put all her bags on the table and walked quickly out of the kitchen.

He took avantage of her absence to look more closely to her interior. He could only see the kitchen and a side of the living room and noted that there wasn't anything personal in there either. Only food, papers and a potted plant. The fridge, surprisingly, was covered in magnets, from little advertisement ones to bigger, more complex ones. Those seemed to come from different places. He saw one from Ireland, several from Paris and one with writing on it that looked like German.

When she came back, she saw him examining her magnets. She laughed. "I knew you would notice them. I always buy at least one of those when I go abroad."

L turned to look at her. "It's the only personal thing you have here. I was bound to notice."

Tomoyo motionned for him to come closer. "I know. I really like them because they don't take any place. My appartement is not big and I don't have much money, so I have to be careful about what I buy."

He sat again on the chair and watched as she put some disinfectant on a cotton wool. She gently tapped it against his wound. She certainly noticed the tightening around his eyes, because she whispered : "Sorry, I know it hurts. I'm being as gentle as I can."

As she was working, he noticed a paper on the table. The word 'Kira' striked him, and he reached out to take the paper. Tomoyo noticed what he was doing but didn't stop him, despite a brief look of panic in her eyes. When she was finished, she stood up and said : "I think it's going to be fine, it already stopped bleeding. Though I expect you will have a nice bruise tomorrow."

"Are you interested in the Kira case ?"

She stiffened, then relaxed slowly. "Yes. Isn't everyone ? I'm trying to forge myself an opinion about what he's doing."

He waved the paper she had found, which was a newspaper article about how he had out-smarted the killer by finding he was in Tokyo. "And what do you think ?"

She bit her lip and looked down, thinking. "I think he really believes what he does is justice. I'm not going to be a hypocrite, I don't hate the idea of killing criminals who deserve it. But for me, his sense of justice is warped. There's no second chance, you make a mistake and can't redeem yourself. If it continues like this, this world will maybe become a crime-less world, where everyone is safe, but we will all live in fear of Kira. It's not the kind of world I want to live in." Tomoyo looked up hesitantly. "And you ? Do you think Kira is some kind of god, like a lot of people are prentending ?"

L shook his head. "I don't know how he is killing his victims, but I'm sure Kira is a human being. And he has to be arrested. Killing people is a crime, no matter who the victims are."

She smiled softly. "I see."

He looked at the hour and stood up. "It's almost eight. I have to go. Thanks for helping me, Tomoyo-chan."

"Are you going to go home alone ?" She asked with a concerned tone. "Do you want me to call a taxi for you ?"

"I will be all right. Don't worry for me. See you tomorrow."

When he shut the door behind him, he caught a glimpse of her and noticed she was staring into space with a concentrated look in her eyes, as if she was analyzing something particularly complex.

**AN : **I'm alive ! I'm really sorry it took so long, but time really flew by after the holidays and I got caught up in school things. Plus, some reviewers tell me my chapters are too short, so I tried to fix that as much as possible. What do you think ? **Would you rather I update quickly and make short chapters, or do you prefer updates that take longer, but with bigger chapters ?**

On another, sadder note, my exams are coming soon. In fact, this Wednesday and Friday I'm taking my Spanish and German exams, which are oral, and the written ones are mid-June. All that to say **I probably won't update before the end of June.**

Don't forget to review =)


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

The next morning, Kagome's clock didn't ring, as she had forgotten to set it before going to bed. Luckily, since she was used to get up early, the miko woke up just in time to quickly get ready, grab her bag, a pack of cookies, and run all the way with still a slim chance to arrive in time in class.

She arrived in the History class merely ten seconds before the bell rang and smiled briefly to the girls who had saved her a seat before sitting down, trying to catch her breath.

After two hours of class and several silent pleas addressed to her stomach to beg him not to growl too loudly, she could finally eat her cookies while listening absently to her friends who were talking. A question asked by Hana attracted her attention :

"Did you see Ryuuga-kun this morning ? I never would have thought he was the kind of guy who would do that."

Before Kagome could ask what she was talking about, Yumi answered : "Me neither, I mean, he looks like a weird, asocial genius, if I hadn't seen what I saw this morning, I never would have imagined..." she trailed off.

Kagome was more and more confused. What in the world did Ryuuga do ? What could have been so shocking that it was able to hold Yumi's attention for more than two minutes ? _Maybe he ran stark naked in the corridors... Could be part of a 'clever plan' to confound Kira... As sad as it sound, it's the only thing I can think of that could have caused such a reaction._

Unfortunately for her, her brain, acting of it's own accord, decided it would be a marvelous idea to produce a picture corresponding to her thoughts. Kagome felt her cheeks warm up.

_He must have quite a nice body... Muscles in all the right places, and... No ! Bad Kagome ! Don't think about that ! This is neither the time nor the place ! I must concentrate on- on what ? Oh yeah, the conversation._

"What happened this morning ?" she asked, leaning slightly forward.

The girls looked at each others for a brief moment, then Yumi spoke :

"You probably didn't notice, Tomoyo-chan, because you arrived late and in a hurry, but Ryuuga-kun arrived this morning with a split lip ! Do you realize ?"

Kagome blinked. And blinked again. "And ?"

Hana grinned. "Tomoyo, Tomoyo, think about it. It means that he was in a fight with someone. Who would have thought he was a delinquent ?"

Without thinking, Kagome stated nonchalantly, while putting a cookie in her mouth : "In fact, he fought with three people. All at once."

In the deafening silence that followed, she had all the time she needed to fully understand what she had said and to admonish herself mentally. _Why, but why did I say that ? Now I know why they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Obviously, skipping it reduces your mental abilities by half._

Nagisa broke the silence. "How do you know that, Tomoyo-chan ?"

Kagome smiled awkwardly. "Err... Well, I was there. I saw everything."

Hana stared at her coolly, as if she was one of the rascals she was babysitting for her neighbor some evenings. Her gaze, combined to the fact that she was at least a head taller than Kagome, made the latter feel like she was eight again, when she had been caught by her mother after **accidentally** taking a water bomb inside the house and **coincidentally**dropping it on the sleeping cat.

"Explain."

Embarrassed, Kagome lowered her head and complied, speaking more to her shoes than to the girls in front of her.

"He was just walking me home, and we were accosted by four drunk men. Things got out of hand, and we had to defend ourselves. That's all that happened."

Hearing nothing after she had spoken, she raised her head again. Just in time to see Yumi nod, looking terribly serious.

"Very well. I approve."

Kagome frowned, astonished. "You approve ? What do you approve ?"

The other girl rolled her eyes. "I approve of your relationship, of course. If he protects you like that, facing several men on his own, then I can do nothing except giving you my blessing."

The miko opened and closed her mouth several times, noting absently that she was probably doing a good impersonation of a fish, completely and utterly stumped.

"But... I don't... It's not like that !" were the only words to make it past her lips.

Yumi smirked, mocking. "Oh, it's not ? What were you doing, then, on the way to your home ?"

"Talking."

Her smirk grew and she raised her eyebrows. "Talking ? That's what they call it these days ?"

Nagisa didn't let Kagome answer. "Before I forget, Tomoyo-chan," she said, "you told us four men accosted you, but before that, you said he fought against three people. You also said 'we had to defend ourselves'. Did you fight the last man ?"

Surprised that one of her interlocutors noticed these little slip-up, Kagome had no other option but to confirm her suspicions.

"But," she tried to minimize her actions like the same way she had done the night before, "he was completely drunk and could hardly walk. I was never in any danger." She punctuated her statement with a shrug.

The girls looked at her with wide eyes. Finally Yumi broke the silence : "Wow, Tomoyo-chan, you talk about it like you do this every day. I don't think I could have fought against an adult man, even if he was about to fall into an alcoholic coma."

"Me neither." confirmed Hana. Nagisa only shook her head.

Kagome felt herself blush again. She looked else where and, doing so, didn't catch when Yumi's eyes narrowed before she bit her lip, looking worried while staring at 'Tomoyo'.

XxxxX

In the next period, Yumi sat next to Kagome, which puzzled everyone else, since she and Hana always sat together normally. In response to Nagisa's taken aback look, she shrugged and stated cryptically and a bit curtly : "We sometimes have to change our habits." The other girl didn't insist and went to occupy the empty place near Hana, just in front of Kagome and Yumi.

As the teacher began to speak, Yumi leaned toward her neighbor and whispered, clearly not wanting to be heard by the others :

"Are you sure you're alright ?"

Kagome stopped taking notes to look at her, confused by her question. Playing with a lock of her dark hair, Yumi elaborated : "I know you were fine, and you act like you are, but to be attacked, like that, by several men... And having to fight to defend yourself like you did... It must have been terrifying."

Kagome smiled gently to her friend, moved that she was so concerned about her. "Don't worry about it, Yumi-chan, everything's fine."

She had to force the next words out of her mouth, hating the fact that she had to lie to someone who worried about her. "At the time, it was rather frightening, but nothing serious happened, so I decided not to think about it anymore, as it won't do me any good. Besides," she laughed, "for the moment I can't think about anything else but the fact that I'm still hungry and that the bakery on the campus makes donuts to die for ! Impossible for me to think about something negative in that case, you know how I am."

Yumi replied quietly "No, I don't."

Kagome froze, then attempted to swallow the lump that had appeared in her throat before asking "What do you mean by that ?"

Yumi's face was a mixture of anger and sadness. "I don't know how you are because I don't know you. You keep hiding behind your forced optimism and your fake childishness ! You don't want anyone to know you, so you created a fake you. I don't think anyone here really knows you."

Kagome felt her eyes widen and her mouth open slightly, before she forced her face to become an emotionless mask. She was willing to bet she had also paled, but couldn't know for sure.

Wordlessly, she turned away and began to take notes again on what the professor was speaking about, but nothing he was saying reached her consciousness. Her thoughts were horribly confused, and the first one she could identify was "bull's eye".

From the corner of her eye, she saw that Yumi stared at her for a moment, before doing the same than her and copying the lesson while paying attention. Kagome was unable to do so, her hand was writing mechanically as she was staring intently at Hana's red shirt in front of her. She knew her reaction was an admission of guilt, yet also was utterly convinced that nothing she could have said would have made Yumi think she was wrong, because she wasn't.

The young girl, who Kagome had seriously underestimated, was completely right, and worse, she perfectly knew it.

Trying to ignore the screaming panic in her head, she made a heroic attempt at thinking rationally. _Shit, what did I do wrong ? I obviously acted too calm about the fight and too silly the rest of the time. Pity, I think my act of 'idiotic me' would have been labeled a normal thing if there hadn't been this fight. After everything, demons, Shinigamis and ghosts, humans don't seem as scary anymore. I guess this reveals how messed up I am, _she thought sadly, _the shit hits the fan when I act like myself._

XxxxX

The rest of the day, Kagome had acted very silent, talking only when spoken to. At one moment, she thought she had discerned a trace of guilt on Yumi's face, but didn't investigate further. She had fled to the safety of her apartment right when the last class ended, only to find another nasty surprise there.

She had watched in horror as Kira took the lives of the journalists who had spoken against him, and then, on the Internet, she had seen he had also killed an anonymous man who had tried to enter Sakura TV.

_The eyes, he has the eyes. I'm in deep shit._

XxxxX

**Somewhere in Tokyo**

"Do you understand now, what we could do with this ?" a figure hidden in the shadows asked.

A man, in his thirties, was apparently deep in thought. A younger red-haired woman, sitting next to him, was playing absently with a bracelet. After a minute, he answered the mysterious person's question : "Such a powerful weapon... Of course, it would be immensely beneficial to our cause, being able to kill anyone with only a name and a face, without any possibility to fail."

"Not anyone, just any human." The figure took a step forward, revealing himself to be a rather attractive teenager, with short blond hair and brown eyes. Only his pointed ears betrayed the fact that he was a demon.

"It can't kill us ?" the woman asked in surprise.

The older man grinned, exposing his razor-sharp teeth. "In other words, it can't be used against us." The grin disappeared from his face. "But are you sure of the quality of your informations ?"

The 'teenager' raised an eyebrow. "Who do you take me for ? The miko was telling the truth, there's no doubt about it."

"And where's this miko now ?" asked the other.

The young demon smirked. "Dead. An unfortunate accident. Must have been fate repaying her for betraying her own kind for more power."

The woman nodded. "Good. How do we find this Death Note ?"

The demon's smirk grew. "Does that mean you accept my proposition ?" When the woman nodded again, followed by the man, he laughed. "Then let's celebrate, my friends, because soon, the demons will rule again."

**AN : **You probably want to strangle me... I took very long but it's here now ! Tell me what you think about it !

Review =)


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own Inuyasha or Death Note

It was a weird morning.

No, Light corrected himself; in fact the entire week had been weird. It was only logical that the weirdness didn't stop now.

With the second Kira's video, his father, already weakened by an heart attack, risking his life to stop the diffusion of said video, and L who didn't come in class anymore, with the effect of making the university completely dull and boring (after all, what was calculus when the most mundane thing in your everyday life was a huge Shinigami following you around and whining for apples?), the rules changed too quickly for Light to be comfortable with.

_It's not necessarily a bad thing,_ he mused. _Falling into a routine would make it easier for L to trap me._

Stifling a yawn, he sat or rather nearly collapsed on a bench outside to rest a few minutes before his next class. The previous night had been almost completely sleepless: he hadn't been able to quiet his mind long enough for him to fall asleep, as he was thinking about a plan to contact the second Kira. The effort had been fruitless and, since it wasn't his first sleepless night this week, he was becoming more and more tired.

The fact that he was moving in a kind of fog probably explained the upsetting feeling that didn't leave him all morning.

The feeling that he was being observed.

Was L making someone follow him again? Could the video have made him that nervous? Maybe he was hoping to catch him in the act sending another video to Sakura TV. Or surprise him killing criminals? Or…

Light sighed and closed his eyes, feeling completely foolish. _Or I could be becoming paranoid because of lack of sleep and too much pressure._

Eyes still closed, he didn't notice someone was approaching until he heard a feminine voice call his name shyly.

"Light-kun? Err…"

Then, another voice said:

"Do you think he's sleeping?"

Opening his eyes grudgingly, he saw three girls watching him anxiously. He recognized them: they were in his class, and he saw them often with Tomoyo.

Seeing he was awake, the smallest girl- Nagisa, maybe? - took a deer-in-the-headlights expression, while one of the others gulped and spoke:

"Hi, Light-kun!" Her voice was a bit too high-pitched. She coughed a little and resumed more calmly: "I, well we, wanted to ask you a question. Well it's more like a service, in fact… And we preferred to talk to you when you were alone, because it's a bit of a sensitive matter. Well, no, not really, but… Err, you see?"

Light wanted to laugh. Not because of her completely incoherent and incomprehensible speech, but they were the one who had watched him this morning. _No FBI agents this time, Light, only a bunch of young girls. Not sure if that's less dangerous, though. _

Feeling both amused and a bit miffed for panicking for so little, he arched an eyebrow.

"No, I really don't. What can I do for you?" He smiled to put his interlocutors more at ease, and if he was lucky, to finish this conversation faster.

The trio glanced at each other before the tallest girl spoke:

"It's about Tomoyo-chan…"

"What about her?"

"You probably noticed, but she didn't come in class for four days. We tried to join her, impossible."

He blinked, surprised. Yes, now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen the energetic girl for a while, even though she made sure to at least tell him hello every day. Truth to be told, her sudden disappearance should have jumped out at him, but he had been too distracted by the second Kira to pay enough attention.

"Is she sick?"

"Impossible to know, she doesn't answer our messages and we don't know where she lives. We were hoping you would know how to contact her."

"Oh." Of course. "No, I only have her phone number."

"Okay." They didn't look too disappointed, as if they were expecting this answer. "And Ryuuga-kun?" resumed the girl. She seemed to be she spokeswoman of the group. "Do you know where to find him?"

"Ryuuga?" What could L possibly have to do with this conversation? Cautiously, he asked: "Maybe, but I don't think he'll answer my calls, to be honest. Why?"

As far as he knew, L wasn't really close to them. Hell, he doubted the detective had spoken to anyone here other than him and Tomoyo. Those girls didn't have any reason to worry about his absence.

This time, it was another girl who answered. He vaguely recalled having once mentally compared her to what Tomoyo could be if she had too much coffee. But here and now, she didn't look like her usual overly-energetic self. She shrugged and said:

"He walked her home at least once. Didn't you know that? And…"

"And we didn't have time to properly tease her about that, can you believe it?" Hana interrupted. "The important thing is, he knows where she lives, and we don't. We can either ask him to help us, or simply wait until Tomoyo-chan comes back at college. So I'm asking you again: can you contact him?"

Light was somewhat surprised by how she was pressing the matter, but also curious: they had been about to let something secret (therefore interesting). His interest picked, he answered:

"Sure, I should be able to."

The three girls seemed relieved. "Great," said Hana. "We're counting on you then. Just tell her we would like her to answer us, even if it's just to get copies of the classes she missed, please."

_Damn,_ thought Light, _what did I say? I'm not even sure I can contact L. But he walked Tomoyo home? I didn't know they were that close. Or could he be planning to use her to trap me? If he is, these girls gave me a valuable heads up._

Suddenly, Yumi turned towards the other girls and said: "Hey, why don't you go ahead and save us seats for class?" Her friends looked at her dubiously, before a small smile appeared on Hana's face, and she practically dragged Nagisa away, towards the school building.

Light raised an eyebrow. What was that about?

Yumi waved to the retreating girls, and then turned towards him, looking more serious than Light had ever seen her. "Sorry about that, but I have another message for Tomoyo-chan, and they can't know about it, because they would be furious against me, and they would be right to be. Could you keep that secret?"

"You weren't exactly subtle," Light pointed out. "They already know you are keeping something from them."

Yumi smiled weakly. "No, it's okay. They will think I wanted to be alone with you because I want to ask you out. I won't lie to them, but when I refuse to talk about our discussion, they will conclude I chickened out and won't suspect anything." She giggled slightly. "Of course, I'm going to get teased about that for _ages, _but I can live with that."

Light nodded, vaguely impressed by her scheme. "What was that message you want me to pass?"

Yumi lowered her head, all remaining traces of humor vanishing. "I want her to know I'm sorry for what I said last time we saw each other. I know I've hit a sore spot, and if… If that's why she's not coming back… She's my friend, even if she's not completely honest with us…"

"Not completely honest?" repeated Light.

She panicked and started doing wild gestures with her hands. "Oh, I've already told you too much. Just give her the message, please, Tomoyo-chan and I will have to settle this when she comes back."

The girl seemed on the verge of tears. If he insisted just a little…

"What's wrong? Something is eating you, I can see it. If you want to talk to someone, I'll never repeat a word of it to anyone, I promise." Light used a soft voice and matching expression to put her more at ease.

Yumi looked at him, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away furiously, but others came quickly.

'No, don't worry about that, it's just a stupid argument. I said things I shouldn't have, and she must hold a grudge against me for that. I need to apologize to her, and then learn to shut up rather than saying hurtful things without thinking about it."

"That's why you don't want the others to know? You said something that upset Tomoyo-chan, and you think that's the reason she's not coming to university anymore?" _What could she possibly have said to elicit such a strong reaction?_ Light smiled nicely. "I'm sure you're overthinking this, and it isn't as bad as you think. Look, I'm convinced Tomoyo-chan is simply sick, and she'll come back, energetic as always, and in a few days, you won't even remember you had an argument".

His interlocutor's face fell a bit more. "No, she won't forget, I'm sure of it. I said she was dishonest, that she didn't act natural with us." She burst into sobs and sat on the bench, next to him. "And… And the worst thing is, I know I was at least partially right, and instead of making her see she could trust me, I just threw my observations in her face, and she'll never, never forgive me! She'll never forgive me because I was right!"

Light stared at the crying girl, completely dumbfounded. Yumi's words had opened his eyes to a possibility he hadn't even considered before: could it be that L and Tomoyo were accomplices? That they were working together in order to arrest him?

One part of his mind was telling him that idea was ridiculous: Tomoyo had always been translucent to him. Energetic, intelligent, and hot-tempered, but still innocent and a little naïve.

But even so, it was true she spent a lot of time with L, and the detective seemed to like her company, since he hadn't said or done anything to make her flee.

And now that he thought about it, there was… something in her personality that was… discordant, for lack of a better term. Like the fact that she was usually rather excitable, but sometimes seemed to lack motivation, to just act for her friend's sake. He had always brushed it off, attributing those moments to fatigue or stress, but now…

Light remembered the commencement ceremony, two weeks ago, and how he had been troubled by her gaze for an instant. He had thought she was studying him, searching for his secrets and weaknesses, and now he was wondering if he had been right.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he looked at Yumi, who was still crying hysterically. Hesitantly, he started to pat her back in an attempt to console her, while trying to figure out how many time he had left before the classes began again. His question was answered when the bell rang. Yumi stiffened.

"I can't go to class like that," she whispered.

Light sighed inconspicuously. He tried to smile at her. "If you want, I can tell your friends you don't feel well and wanted to stay outside."

She might have seen his smile was faked, because she chuckled a little through her tears, still trying to calm herself down. "Are you uncomfortable with crying women, Light-kun?" she attempted to tease him, though the effect was somewhat spoiled by her sobs. "It's nice to know you're similar to most men in that aspect."

His imitation of a smile fell and he ran a hand through his hair. "I have to go to class Yumi-chan."

She smiled weakly at him. "Could you tell them I forgot my English book, and went back to my place to get it? I don't care much for History anyway."

"I'll do that," he said.

"Thanks," Yumi replied. "I owe you one."

'_No,' _he thought as he was walking away from her, his mind reeling with possibilities and suspicions. _'I think I owe you one.'_

**AN: ** It's been a long time, hasn't it? Well, don't forget to review, even if it's to tell me how mad at me you are =)


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